The prior art related to veneer drywall construction systems includes several examples of veneer anchors which are used to interconnect inner and outer wythes. Examples of this prior art may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,990 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,518.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,990 shows a drywall construction system in which the veneer anchor has a plate member which includes a relatively narrow vertically projecting bar disposed parallel to the plate member. The veneer anchor is used to secure a wall board layer to a vertical channel, or standard framing member, by inserting sheet metal screws into bores formed in the plate member and fastening the sheet metal screws through the wall board and the vertical channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,518 shows a veneer anchor which includes a pair of pronged members which are forced through a wall board layer until the pronged members abuttingly engage the front flange of a vertical channel member. Thereafter, sheet metal screws are inserted into bores formed in the veneer anchor and fastened through the wall board layer and the front flange of the channel member.
In each of the above examples, the veneer anchor is attached to a single vertical channel and to a single wall tie member.
After the above described veneer wall anchors are attached to the vertical channels, the wall tie members, which are formed of wire and have a generally truncated triangular configuration, are connected to the veneer wall anchors by attaching the apex portions of the wall tie members to the projecting bar portions of the veneer wall anchors. The base portions of the wall tie members are then attached to an outer wythe by inserting the base portions of the wall tie members into the mortar joints of the outer wythe.
The disadvantages of the prior art include the possibility of limited stability of the wall anchors caused by possible compression, settling or disintegrating of the insulating or wall board layer and the problems caused by the piercing of the wall board layer by the sheet metal screws shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,990 or the combination of sheet metal screws and the pronged members in U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,518.